Related Links

Seminoles know the importance of rivalry matchup

By Jason Shoot | News Herald Writer

Published: Tuesday, November 20, 2012 at 09:11 PM.

“I’m looking forward to being a part of the game,” he said. “It’s a huge game. It’s Florida. Even if both of these teams weren’t in the Top 10, if we were 0-11 it would still be a huge game in the state of Florida. I’ve learned that playing here over the last five years.”

Fisher echoed those thoughts.

“It’s important to the fan base, it’s important to the people, the history of your school, the tradition of your school,” Fisher said. “That’s one of the reasons you play at this school is to play in that rivalry. To me this is one of the great rivalries in college football.”

Barron: FSU, Maryland

are not comparable

FSU president Eric Barron squashed any suggestion that Maryland’s departure from the Atlantic Coast Conference in favor of the Big Ten Conference would have any bearing on Seminole athletics.

TALLAHASSEE — Johnny Carson’s Carnac the Magnificent wouldn’t need to place an envelope near his forehead to determine what Jimbo Fisher has had on his mind all week.

“This is the Florida game,” said Fisher, Florida State’s football coach. “If you need motivation to play Florida, something ain’t right. It’s not about the BCS or the rankings or anything else. We know the importance of this game because it’s Florida. That’s what you’re here at Florida State to do: To play Florida, to compete against Florida and to do well against Florida. That’s our sole focus this week.”

Fisher’s spirited impersonation of a drill sergeant at his weekly press conference this week revealed a coach who recognizes the significance of this contest, which pits the 10th-ranked Seminoles against the visiting No. 6 Gators at Doak Campbell Stadium. The game kicks off at 2:30 p.m. CST and will be televised on ABC.

FSU is 10-1 and has a game against Georgia Tech awaiting it in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game on Dec. 1. Florida also is 10-1, and the Gators remain alive for a berth in the BCS title game.

The Seminoles have won the last two games in the rivalry after absorbing six straight defeats against UF between 2004 and 2009. Fisher directed credit toward a senior class that has turned around a program that finished 7-6 just three years ago.

“I think they’ve brought back some credibility,” Fisher said. “They put us back in the national spotlight. They had our first 10-win season in nine years (in 2009). We’re playing for another (conference) championship. … The adversity they fought through, the trust they put in us — the senior class needs to be remembered very well for getting Florida State back in the limelight and making it significant again in college football and in the upper echelon of those conversations.”

One of those seniors, quarterback EJ Manuel, said he relishes the opportunity to play Florida again. Manuel certainly would like to perform better than he did in Gainesville last year, when he completed just 6 of 13 passes for 65 yards and was sacked four times.

“I’m looking forward to being a part of the game,” he said. “It’s a huge game. It’s Florida. Even if both of these teams weren’t in the Top 10, if we were 0-11 it would still be a huge game in the state of Florida. I’ve learned that playing here over the last five years.”

Fisher echoed those thoughts.

“It’s important to the fan base, it’s important to the people, the history of your school, the tradition of your school,” Fisher said. “That’s one of the reasons you play at this school is to play in that rivalry. To me this is one of the great rivalries in college football.”

Barron: FSU, Maryland

are not comparable

FSU president Eric Barron squashed any suggestion that Maryland’s departure from the Atlantic Coast Conference in favor of the Big Ten Conference would have any bearing on Seminole athletics.

“We have a very strong set of boosters, and we have a strong football program, and my belief is an increasingly strong basketball program,” Barron told the Democrat. “No matter how you look at it, you’ve got to look at football and basketball as being revenue sports, and our baseball program is good enough that it can generate some revenues above what its costs are, too. So Florida State’s budget situation is, I think, nothing like Maryland’s budget situation at all.”

Maryland’s decision to leave the ACC for the Big Ten did not come as a surprise to many, although no conference wants to lose one of its charter members. Barron said the conference will explore options to replace the Terrapins.

“The ACC is a strong conference,” he said. “No one’s wringing their hands. This type of thing is always under discussion.”